Dragons on the River of Time [Third Quest - "Kender, Kodragons, and...Cam Banks?"]

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Loren's brow furrowed as he took in the strange sights before him. He wasn't sure what was more unsettling, having a world be similar to what he knew but not quite, or have a world be almost completely unfamiliar. It was going to be hard to be undercover in this strange land, he thought.

"What are those things....kodragons?" he asked the Wayfarer. "And why is he hunting them?"

A heartfelt smile spread across Simone's weary face as she took Beldyn's hand and offered a barely audible "Thank you."

She then heard out the Wayfarer and added her own questions to Loren's.

"Are you asking us to murder this man?" She began, ever more wary of the quests they were being sent on. "Or will something happen at the end of this 48 hours that will allow the creatures to survive on their own?"

“Provided the kodragons can survive the next forty-eight hours the current should stabilize in such a fashion that will allow for their continued existence. Other powers will intervene and such. There's no need to murder anyone, you simply have to keep the kodragons alive,” he said sternly, then turned his attention to Loren. “They're an extremely rare species of extraplanar dragon. They don't even exist in some forks of the River. In others, like this one almost is, they've been wiped from existence by a number of bizarre causes. It helps that here they are sacred to the demi-god that protects Alth, but his opposite number has played a significant role in bringing the kodragon population to it's current state." He paused for a moment, considering something. "Alright, it's time for a mini-history lesson,” he said with an apologetic grin to his champions.

The image of a tall, lean human man with a thick red beard and long dark hair clutching a cherry staff came into view on the globe. The wooden staff was topped with a dragon claw carved from gold that clutched a ruby the size of a man's fist. The gem pulsed with a soft inner light. The man wore a faded black and white checked garment embroidered with Druidic symbols along the cuffs and sleeves and a heavy gray cloak. His dark eyes were unsettling, even through the Wayfarer's globe. It was as if he could read the nature of your very soul simply by looking at you. Even the Wayfarer looked uncomfortable under the image's scrutiny. The man was quickly replaced by the vision of two gray-furred, frolicking kodragons.

“That was Thov,” the sorcerer said as naturally as he could. “He maintains the natural order of things on Alth. While not a god in the truest sense of the word, he is also not mortal either. For thousands of years the kodragons have served him in finding the mortal champions the world needed when it needed them. Naturally, unfortunately – however you want to look at it - Thov has an opposite.”

The visage of a grinning pine green demon with long bat-like ears that jutted from the sides of it's head, from beneath a mane of long scraggly white hair, appeared. The thing grinned at them with a toothy, leering smile as wide as it's face. Golden eyes glittered with malicious, disturbing mischief.

“Kaes the Gremlin King. Where Thov maintains balance and order, Kaes sows hate and discontent. The gremlins that serve him tricked Kam Banks into believing that kodragons had murdered his wife and young sons when the demi-god was occupied with dire, world-shaking events outside of his control. By the time Thov was aware of what had transpired Kam's bloody crusade was nearly done. There weren't many kodragons left when this happened and the gremlins are now threatening to tip the balance of things completely back towards chaos. That cannot be allowed to happen,” the Wayfarer said firmly.

“The real gods? You mean your gods,” the Wayfarer said bemusedly. “They exist in a manner of speaking. The pantheons are not nearly as well balanced or limited as you might be used to. And the names you know them by are unknown on Alth. Mishakal is commonly called 'Marshalya-rigg,'” he told Loren. “The Blue Phoenix would be called 'Rik' and Paladine, 'Fath,'” he instructed Luccia and Beldyn. “Oh! And there's only one moon. That might be a bit shocking for some of you!”

Beldyn left the supernal gaze of Simone when she asked about the morality of their next quest. He had been thinking the same thing when she had asked.

Again, he was preempted when Soth beat him to his next question. He listened in silence thinking that this would be a wonderful opportunity to bring Paladine to the heathens. He was exulting in the renewed connection with his god and he was looking forward to this next assignment.

Last edited by elder; 12-11-2013 at 05:03 AM.

"It's not a game of Final Fantasy where you can step outside the plot for a bit and train up your stats, it's a potentially apocalyptic final chapter in an epic drama." - Brass Tiger Captain

Ulin listened in amusement to the Wayfarer spin the next mission. So they were protecting fabled magical beasts now? What next, traveling with Great Uncle Tas on a gnomish sky-ship to Lunitari? Shifting impatiently from foot to foot, the sorcerer listened, finally asking necessary questions. Thankfully, his magic came from the land itself, independent of fickle gods.

“And what are we to do when we encounter this Kam Banks,” Ulin asked. “Will that fork the River farther if he somehow dies?”

“Also, is there anything specific we need to know about the country you are depositing us in?”

“It's full of kender,” the Wayfarer said with a laugh. “That's usually enough information for anyone. However,” he said, suddenly serious again. “As far as Kam's fate goes? That is beyond my divinations. Keeping the kodragons alive is the fastest way to repair this fork and the surrounding currents. Do whatever you feel is best to ensure their survival and all shall be well!”

Food Fight!

Loren didn't know exactly what he was looking at when he stepped through the Wayfarer's portal. He appeared to be in a large wooden hall with a high ceiling. The moldings and support beams above him had been painted with beautifully detailed renderings of rabbits, deer, songbirds, trees, and cheerful frolicking kender. The windows and doors in the hall were open, letting in the cool spring breeze and beams of golden sunlight. He could hear merry-making everywhere outside. A pleasant symphony of laughter and song combined with the heady aromas of beer, warm bread, and sweet pastries giving the silent tableau in front of him a strange welcoming feeling. His nose twitched. There was a faint rotten smell lingering in the hall that he couldn't quite place – something like rotten eggs combined with unwashed feet.

On the other side of the long wooden table directly in front of him more then two dozen kender stood amongst a landslide of overturned miniature tables and chairs. Every single one of the halflings was dripping with blue, red, yellow, and brown pie filling. Bits of crust were stuck in their hair and mashed into their brightly colored clothes. As the last of his companions exited the Wayfarer's portal and the gateway closed behind them the panorama of small gaping mouths pursed together as one to form a chorus of “Ooooooooh!”

In the split second of silence that was sure to be a prelude to a barrage of incessant questions and friendly grasping fingers one taller fellow, standing atop the kender-sized long table spoke up, immediately drawing all eyes to him as he shouted and stomped his right foot causing the table to wobble dangerously. Where all kender tended to look like human children with slightly pointed ears, this looked more like a young human man. A half-kender perhaps, Loren wondered. Was such a thing possible?

“Now that I finally have your attention...No don't look at them! Look at me!” the half-kender said, pointing to a silver five-pointed star pinned to his pie-stained brown coat. “I am the sheriff and you are all under arrest for disturbing the peace...And stop laughing at me!” he said, flinging a resilient chunk of cherry pie from his left cheek at whomever had been giggling just then. “I am the sheriff! This isn't funny! And you're all going to jail!” he said, pointing his hoopak at the pastry-covered crowd in condemnation.

Someone, Loren didn't see who, shouted “Boooo!” and threw a pie.

The pie hit Loren in the face.

It was the worst tasting pie that had ever hit him in the face.

As the paladin of Mishakal wiped chunks of flaky crust and brown goo from his eyes and tried to ignore the strong eggy-footy smell that had come with it, the entire place resumed the food fight he and his companions' dramatic arrival had interrupted.

“Bubba! I'll kill you!” the sheriff shouted as he hopped off the long table and waded into the pandemonium to catch the unfortunately-named troublemaker.

However, despite having wiped most of the terrible tasting pie off of his face Loren still couldn't see very well. A thick brown cloud that smelled like a magnified version of the awful pie now obscured his vision beyond the big table. He thought he heard some nearby kender getting sick, but he couldn't see a damn thing beyond a few paces. Ulin and Beldyn both realized, as they stifled their gag reflexes, that the pie that had struck Loren in the face had somehow triggered a stinking cloud spell.

This was precisely what Luccia should have expected when the Wayfarer mentioned Kender. All at once she was baffled by the chaos of a pie-fight, the stench of rank waste; she even had to stifle a giggle at Loren's misfortune.

Leaning into her sister with whispered word and thought, 'We need you loudest call to break through to this rabble.' Sounare feather's ruffled and as her neck arched there was a stentorian roar that crescendoed in a great whistle.

Trying not to miss a beat while he own ears rang in pain she threw up her hands, "Thank you all for welcoming us with an incredible pie-fight!" Shouting, she realized she might have a chance, "Whoever can tell me where we are and doesn't hit me with pie might get to fly!" She could feel the sites settling on her face and could only smile and wait.